Re-training tastebuds

[CookAMH]

Can I get some help on the process of re-training taste buds? I am soooo used to certain tastes. Starches, breads, sugar, sweets. I love savory things but many things in TF don't sound very appealing though they're healthy. Saurkraut. Kombucha. Dark leafy greans (kale, collards). I love butter of course and meats and vinegars. I can adapt with different oils.

But I have to take CO in juice, CLO in juice, crave sweets and love breads. I believe I need to significantly reduce carbs and feel at a loss for what to substitute. I do love eggs and cheese.

How did you all make the switch if you grew up on a western diet?

I think part of the hardship is that I am still obtaining the new foods (ie non rancid nuts, good eggs, good meat, learning about soaking grains to make bread, working budget for what we can buy organic, etc).

[wholewheatchick]

I, too, am just slowly switching over to TF. Very slowly. I'm starting with the things I already kind of eat, and like. So I soak my oatmeal now. I've been soaking and cooking my own beans. I've strarted eating more rice and less pasta and bread. Only as I've gotten comfortable with those things have I started branching out more. The biggest change for me has been shifting my mental focus to "Fat is good!" So now I eat meat, and peanut butter coconut oil balls, and butter. Sorry, that's probably not too much help! But I'm with you, if that makes you feel any better.

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by wholewheatchick

peanut butter coconut oil balls,

Do you just make those from PB and CO?

No, that helps. It makes sense to start of with what you like, just a change in the method of making it. Also, I love to cook so I have tons of recipes that can be immediatly adapated by switching oils and getting better meat and veggies. I need to be more creative on non-dinner meals to have less carbs and variety and actually have stuff in the house. I tend to just plan dinner but with TF I think I need to think more of breakfast and lunch too in order to eat those well.

[Magelet]

Planning to have a few options on hand for lunch and breakfast helps.

As for training your tastebuds, I think the biggest thing is time and exposure. I just realized recently that 98% of the time I have no taste for chocolate, it's too sweet. Dp will be eating some and offer it to me and super dark gocolate usually still tastes too sweet. I still occasionally have some and eat sweets at birthday parties and such but I've rarely eaten sugar for so long it tastes too sweet. (little refined for a year).
For greens and liver and such I think it is partly cooking them properly, partly good fresh food and partly exposure, that you ge used to it.

For me co was time and exposure. I didn't like it at first but I kept using it in stews and stuff and now I like it.
Do you eat kraut by itself? I only like it really with meat. With rch meat I love it but by itself not so much.

Eta: also as your body catches up on fats your sweet tooth will probably reduce. This can take a year or more.

[cristeen]

With cutting out the carbs, I suggest joining us in the grain-free thread. Many of us are also sugar-free, or strive to be. Once you've done GF/SF for a while, your tastebuds will change, and once that happens some things that you don't care for now will taste very differently. I never used to like leafy greens, but after several months of GF/SF eating, now I love kale (still don't care for collards, but that's the texture). It's amazing how alive your tastebuds seem after allowing them to adjust off of sugar and grains.